Mechanisms and Effectiveness of Imagery Strategies in Reducing Disgust in Contamination-Related Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Comparing Imagery Rescripting, Imagery Self-compassion and Mood-Focused Imagery

Background Strong feelings of disgust and anxiety are maintaining factors in contamination-related obsessive–compulsive disorder (C-OCD). To this day there are not many studies that investigated strategies for changing pathological disgust. In a previous study, it was shown that imagery rescripting could successfully change disgust. However, whether imagery rescripting or more general imagery processing, helps to reduce pathological disgust, remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate how successful imagery rescripting is in comparison to imagery self-compassion and a passive positive imagery condition in reducing disgust. Methods For this, the three strategies were compared to each other on 2 days (within-subject) in a laboratory experiment. The study included 24 subjects with diagnosed C-OCD, and 24 matched, healthy controls (between-subject). Results The results show that all three strategies changed disgust, they do not differ from each other and that different traits appear to influence the strategies’ success or failure. The theoretically derived underlying mechanisms of the strategies were found in an elaborate content analysis. Conclusions The present study provides first indications that imagery in general can help to change pathological disgust experience.

Positive moods are all alike? Differential affect amplification effects of ‘elated’ versus ‘calm’ mental im-agery in young adults reporting hypomanic-like experiences

Positive mood amplification is a hallmark of the bipolar disorder spectrum (BPDS). We need bet-ter understanding of cognitive mechanisms leading to such elevated mood. Generation of vivid, emo-tionally compelling mental imagery is proposed to act as an ‘emotional amplifier’ in BPDS.We used a positive mental imagery generation paradigm to manipulate affect in a subclinical BPDS-relevant sample reporting high (n=31) vs. low (n=30) hypomanic-like experiences on the Mood Dis-order Questionnaire (MDQ). Participants were randomized to an ‘elated’ or ‘calm’ mental imagery condi-tion, rating their momentary affect four times across the experimental session. We hypothesized greater affect increase in the high (vs. low) MDQ group assigned to the elated (vs. calm) imagery generation condition. We further hypothesized that this change would be driven by increases in the types of affect typically associated with (hypo)mania, i.e., suggestive of high activity lev-els.Mixed model and time-series analysis showed that for the high MDQ group, affect increased steeply and in a sustained manner over time in the ‘elated’ imagery condition, and more shallowly in ‘calm’. The low-MDQ group did not show this amplification effect. Analysis of affect clusters showed high-MDQ mood amplification in the ‘elated’ imagery condition was most pronounced for active affective states. This experimental model of BPDS-relevant mood amplification shows evidence that positive men-tal imagery drives changes in affect in the high MDQ group in a targeted manner. Findings inform cogni-tive mechanisms of mood amplification, and spotlight prevention strategies targeting elated imagery, while potentially retaining calm imagery to preserve adaptive positive emotionality.

Bimanual coupling effect during a proprioceptive stimulation

Circle-line drawing paradigm is used to study bimanual coupling. In the standard paradigm, subjects are asked to draw circles with one hand and lines with the other hand; the influence of the concomitant tasks results in two “elliptical” figures. Here we tested whether proprioceptive information evoked by muscle vibration inducing a proprioceptive illusion (PI) of movement at central level, was able to affect the contralateral hand drawing circles or lines. A multisite 80 Hz-muscle vibration paradigm was used to induce the illusion of circle- and line-drawing on the right hand of 15 healthy participants. During muscle vibration, subjects had to draw a congruent or an incongruent figure with the left hand. The ovalization induced by PI was compared with Real and Motor Imagery conditions, which already have proved to induce bimanual coupling. We showed that the ovalization of a perceived circle over a line drawing during PI was comparable to that observed in Real and Motor Imagery condition. This finding indicates that PI can induce bimanual coupling, and proprioceptive information can influence the motor programs of the contralateral hand.

Transdiagnostic connectome-based prediction of craving

Craving is a central construct in the study of motivation and human behavior and is also a clinical symptom of substance and non-substance-related addictive disorders. Thus, craving represents a target for transdiagnostic modeling. We applied connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) to functional connectivity data in a large (N=274) transdiagnostic sample of individuals with and without substance-use-related conditions, to predict self-reported craving. CPM is a machine-learning approach used to identify neural signatures in functional connectivity data related to a specific phenotype. Functional connectomes were derived from three guided imagery conditions of personalized appetitive, stress, and neutral-relaxing experiences. Craving was rated before and after each imagery condition. CPM successfully predicted craving, thereby identifying a transdiagnostic craving network comprised primarily of the posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, visual cortex, and primary sensory areas. Findings suggest that craving may be associated with difficulties directing attention away from internal self-related processing, represented in the default mode network.

Putting Attention on the Spot in Coaching: Shifting to an External Focus of Attention With Imagery Techniques to Improve Basketball Free-Throw Shooting Performance

Attentional focus is an area that has garnered considerable attention in the sport psychology and motor performance literature. This is unsurprising given that attentional focus has been directly linked to performance outcomes and is susceptible to coaching input. While research has amassed supporting benefits of an external focus of attention (EFA) on motor performance using verbal instruction, other studies have challenged the notion that an EFA is more beneficial than an internal focus of attention (IFA) for sport-related performance. Further, it is unclear what type of instructions may serve to direct an athlete to an EFA and, in particular, if coaching can utilize imagery to orient an athlete toward an EFA. In the present exploratory study, we evaluate the effectiveness of instruction to improve free-throw shooting performance with an emphasis on an EFA brought about by implementing techniques borrowed from the imagery literature. This was tested relative to an alternate approach with an IFA induced through an emphasis on technique, devised to more closely resemble input typical of coach-to-athlete instruction. Twenty-five male and female university basketball players completed both conditions in a fully counterbalanced within-subject design. Results confirmed that participants in the EFA imagery condition had greater shooting accuracy than in the IFA technique condition. The study provides initial evidence that EFA coaching can borrow from imagery techniques, though future research should elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the effect.

Effects of Mental Imagery on Prospective Memory: A Process Analysis in Individuals with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Prospective memory (PM) is a multiphasic cognitive function important for autonomy and functional independence but is easily disrupted by pathological aging processes. Through cognitive simulation of perceptual experiences, mental imagery could be an effective compensatory strategy to enhance PM performance. Nevertheless, relevant research in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been limited, and the underlying mechanism of the therapeutic effect has not been sufficiently elucidated. The present study aimed to examine complex PM performances and the effect of mental imagery on each phase in older adults with MCI and to investigate the underlying cognitive mechanism from a process perspective. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Twenty-eight MCI and 32 normal aging controls completed a seminaturalistic PM task, in addition to a series of neuropsychological tests. Participants from each group were randomly assigned to a mental imagery condition or a standard repeated encoding condition before performing the PM task. Four indices were used to measure performance in the intention formation, intention retention, intention initiation, and intention execution phases of PM. Performances in each phase was compared between the 2 diagnostic groups and the 2 instruction conditions. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The MCI group performed worse than the normal aging group in the intention formation and intention retention phases. The participants in the mental imagery condition performed significantly better than those in the standard condition during the intention formation, intention retention, and intention execution phases, regardless of the diagnostic group. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the group and condition during intention retention, showing that people with MCI benefited even more from mental imagery than normal aging in this phase. Performance in the intention retention phase predicted performance in the intention initiation and intention execution phases. <b><i>Discussion:</i></b> PM deficits in MCI mainly manifest during planning and retaining intentions. Mental imagery was able to promote performance in all but the initiation phase, although a trend for improvement was observed in this phase. The effects of mental imagery may be exerted in the intention retention phase by strengthening the PM cue-action bond, thereby facilitating the probability of intention initiation and bolstering fidelity to the original plan during intention execution.

Associative Imagery as a Strategy to Improve Destination Memory in Younger and Older Adults

Destination memory errors (inability to remember to whom information was shared) affects all ages, but older adults are particularly vulnerable due to poor source monitoring. Individuals may assume information was already shared when it was not or repeat previously shared information. The current study explored two mental imagery strategies (vivid imagery, visualizing context) to improve destination memory. Using a software program, younger and older adults told randomly generated facts to random celebrity faces. Participants were unaware of the upcoming memory tests. The control group did not use a strategy. The imagery group used vivid imagery to connect the fact and face (e.g., visualize Oprah on a dime to remember Oprah was told that dimes have 118 ridges). The context group visualized a provided context (e.g., grocery store) when telling a fact to a face. Assessments of performance on item memory (facts, faces) as well as destination memory (face-fact pairings) were counterbalanced. Results indicated an associative memory deficit among older adults, which was driven by a higher rate of false alarms. However, across all adults, the vivid imagery condition was more accurate than the control condition, and they demonstrated fewer false alarms. These findings suggest that older adults can use mental imagery to reduce false alarms and improve destination memory performance. Implications include reducing age stereotypes, improving conversations, and decreasing potentially dangerous situations (e.g., withholding important health information thinking it already was shared with a doctor).

WETLAND MAPPING WITH MULTITEMPORAL SENTINEL RADAR REMOTE SENSING IN THE SOUTHEAST REGION OF BRAZIL

A classification method with multi-temporal images of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) combined with Geographic information system, geoinformation data, and field validation, was applied for wetland mapping accuracy and typology. Wetland mapping is vital for management and conservation, particularly under environmental pressures such as wetland drainage and land reclamation. The aim of this study is to develop an accurate mapping of wetlands and open water systems of the Lower Doce River Valley - LDRV (Southeastern Brazil) with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, using multitemporal classification techniques and ground truth validation. Sentinel-1B SAR imagery from 2016 and 2019 was processed with Google Earth Engine (GEE). Monthly median imagery condition for the rainy season was obtained and K-means unsupervised classification was applied. The study yields 4,157 wetlands, 262.27 km2 with predominant small patches. Fieldwork revealed three main wetlands categories: coastal wetlands, inland wetlands and artificial wetlands. The results have shown an overall accuracy of 81.9% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.71. Wetlands, non-wetlands, and open waters classes present accuracy of 50, 80 and 95%, respectively.

Brief Compassion-Focused Imagery Dampens Physiological Pain Responses

Objectives Affiliative processes are postulated to improve pain coping. Comparatively, compassion-focused imagery (CFI) also stimulates affiliate affect systems with a burgeoning behavioural, cognitive and physiological evidence base. Thus, the purpose of the present research was to investigate if engaging in brief CFI could improve pain coping. Methods Utilising a randomised repeated measures crossover design, 37 participants were subjected to experimental pain (cold pressor) following counter-balanced engagement with CFI or control imagery, 1 week apart. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and questionnaire measures of emotional responding were taken: at baseline, following introduction to the imagery condition (anticipation), and immediately after the cold pressor pain task (actual). Results Participants exhibited increases in sAA levels in response to pain following control imagery but, no such changes were observed following CFI (i.e. there was a significant time-by-condition interaction). Pain tolerance (the length of time participants immersed their hands in the cold pressor) did not differ by imagery condition. However, sAA responses to actual pain predicted decreased pain tolerance in the CFI condition. Additionally, anticipatory sAA response predicted increased pain tolerance across both conditions. None of the emotional measures of well-being differed by imagery condition, nor by condition over time. Conclusions These data demonstrate that using CFI can curtail a physiological stress response to pain, as indicated by increases in sAA in the control imagery condition only, following pain; pain tolerance was not influenced by CFI. Compassion-based approaches may therefore help people cope with the stress associated with pain.

Motor Preparation and Motor Imagery: Functional Equivalence is not Computational Equivalence

Vividly imagining action is thought to be functionally equivalent with preparing to act. Although evidence has shown that imagination can prime subsequent action, this is also the defining feature of action preparation. Curiously, neither theory nor experiment have thus far examined to what extent functional equivalence between these phenomena also constitutes a computational equivalence. To test this hypothesis, a response precuing experiment was designed whereby real responses were primed either with relevant imagination or preparation of an action. The information content and validity of precues were manipulated, allowing us to evaluate the relative costly, beneficial, and total congruency effects of these two conditions on subsequent performance. In four experiments, we observed consistency between conditions in their effects on the patterns of response time costs and benefits, demonstrating empirical evidence in line with the functional equivalence hypothesis. Additionally, the strength of priming, measured as the total congruency effect, was consistently larger in the imagery condition. This observation was not dependent on temporal uncertainty (Experiment 2), was a general feature of the motor system (Experiment 3), and could not be explained as a function of cognitive load (Experiment 4). To our knowledge this is the first evidence of a reliable difference between motor imagery and motor preparation, and therefore provides a novel qualitative aspect to the functional equivalence hypothesis. The implications for existing and future theories and models of motor imagery are discussed, with particular focus on the potential value of predictive coding frameworks.